Iconic Australian comic strip, The Potts, which appeared daily in
newspapers around Australia for generations, turns 100 this week
as Australia’s oldest comic strip.
The strip began life as You and Me in Smith’s Weekly on 7th August,
1920 under the pen of legendary cartoonist Stan Cross. Upon Cross’
retirement from Smith’s in 1939, he bequeathed the strip to Jim
Russell, who changed the strip’s name to The Potts.
Russell created the wily character of Uncle Dick in 1950s to lighten
the tone. By then, The Potts had started appearing as a Sunday
feature, regularly read by families. Uncle Dick was a stunning
success and he helped propel the strip to international fame, with an
estimated daily readership of 15 million, appearing in New Zealand,
Turkey, Canada, Finland and Sri Lanka along with 25 American
newspapers.
By the time Russell died in 2001, aged 92, he had drawn The Potts for
62 years unassisted, a world record.
Both cartoonists are honoured annually by their peers. The annual
Stanley Awards, which honour cartooning excellence, are named after
Stan Cross, while the Jim Russell Award is presented for an
individual’s outstanding contribution to Australian cartooning.
Appropriately enough, the Jim Russell Award features a bronze effigy
of Uncle Dick.